The Detroit Lions are absolutely a buyer as the trade deadline approaches, with the sentiment clearly focused on the need to add a capable cornerback. But there should be no stones left unturned when it comes to possible upgrades to any spot on the roster, and general manager Brad Holmes is surely doing that due diligence.
With two big trades on Tuesday, and more seemingly to come before the trade deadline, the Indianapolis Colts have completely declared themselves to be open for business as a seller. Contending teams should be mining a roster that has plenty of talent.
The idea the Lions would become a tight end-heavy offense this season, with Drew Petzing calling the shots, has not quite come to fruition yet. According to Sumer Sports, their rate of "12" personnel (24.1 percent) is comparable to last season (22.6 percent) and they overall EPA efficiency has been basically a wash compared to last season.
The Lions showed how much they valued Brock Wright when they matched an out of nowhere offer sheet from the San Francisco 49ers in 2024. The idea Tyler Conklin could provide more as the TE2 alongside Sam LaPorta has not gotten any traction yet.
Colts' fire sale gives Lions a new option to uprade the TE2 spot
Any Colt who is on an expiring contract, as Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner were, is subject to be traded. There are multiple others, but one should be on the Lions' radar as a TE2 option.
Mo Alie-Cox has been in Indianapolis for so long he caught two touchdowns from Andrew Luck as rookie. He has never had a huge role in the passing game, by targets or route participation, but he has been efficient with his opportunities and has been a effective blocker.
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So far this season, Alie-Cox is Pro Football Focus' 23rd-highest graded tight end, with a top-20 receiving grade (74.5) and a top-30 run blocking grade (60.8) among 78 qualifiers.
By comparison, Wright is outside the top-50 by overall and pass blocking grade (Alie-Cox is also outside the top-50 in the latter case), with a run blocking grade just outside the top-30.
It's not totally apples-to-apples, since the Lions have already had their bye week while the Colts haven't, but Wright and Alie-Cox have played almost the same number of snaps with similar snap shares.
The idea of swapping Alie-Cox in for Wright as the Lions' TE2 may lead to Spider-Man GIFs coming out. But Wright remains ripe to be unseated from that spot on the depth chart, and an answer to get that done is not currently on the roster.
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